[quThe shop that assembled the computer for me didn't give me any, but since the computer was scratch-built, I am sure there must have been something. The advantage of having it built locally is that I can just carry it into their shop, put it down on their counter all hot and greasy, and say "You built it, you sold it to me, now fix it!".

They're actually really good guys, I usually have to twist their arms a little bit to get them to take more than a pittance in payment. Typical service fee for something like this (open up the BIOS, check the documentation, find and change a setting) would run maybe 50 pesos, about $4 USD, except that in this case they probably won't charge anything.

I think they like me there, because even though by the standards of this BBS I am a clueless ignoramus, I am vastly more knowledgeable than most of the people who come through their doors. Makes me easier to work with.

OK, update: I found that changing the ErP setting in the BIOS fixed the problem. [ErP refers to Energy related Products directive]. The default setting is "Disabled". When Enabled, the USB ports do indeed turn off when the computer is shut down.

However... there may be an undesirable side effect. I need to re-test this, but the one shutdown I did with ErP Enabled seemed to turn off the whole computer... permanently. It wouldn't power back up. After ten minutes of fiddling with the power switch, the power supply switch, plugging and unplugging the A/C power cord, suddenly there was a relay click from inside the computer and it came back up.

Since the only way I can get into the BIOS is to turn the computer off again... well, if you don't hear from me for a few days you'll know what happened.

tanstaafl.